DAY: 25th, 26th September (Saturday and Sunday)

Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm IST

For the first time on popular demand we are hosting a Rogan art workshop with one of the oldest families practising this art. This will be a two hour class each for over 2 days and will be conducted over Zoom - adults or children above 12 years can join. For first 10 participants only and orders must be placed before 15th September

• Day 1: Introduction about Rogan, introduction to colours, some practise of using colours on paper (Please see a short video for this technique that we have added here)
• Day 2: Working with colours on cloth- traditionally one side of the artwork is worked on and then the other side is placed on top of the completed side so that the artwork replicates on the other side

Materials that will be sent for this workshop:

• 3 colours prepared by the artist (blue, yellow, green)- these colours are prepared with castor oil and make a long time to make and only last from 10-14 days. Hence deliveries for this workshop will be done from 15th to 25th of September and all orders must be placed before that
• Red Cloth for painting- about 1 meter
• Kalam- this is the traditional iron kalam /small rod used by the artist

At your end please have the following ready

• Some paper to practise on day 1
• Some rough cloth 

About the artist: Rizwan Khatri is a 7th generation Rogan artist. His father Sidik Khatri, a well known Master artist from village Nirona in Kutch lost everything after the 2001 earthquake and had to forcibly give up rogan art in order to support his family . Rizwan was a young student then but had the vision and love for his family's heritage to take up rogan art again. His father, first skeptical, saw his perseverance and supported him and his brother then took up the art too and together they have been innovating and taking this art forward in new ways. His work has now also been showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week and a painting by him has also been presented by PM Modi to the British High Commissioner. Rizwan has now also taken the initiative to teach this art to 15 women in his village - again a testament to his progressive thinking as women were earlier barred from learning this art. 

This craft is a form of surface embellishment and practiced for over hundred years, but now by only a single family in Nirona, Kachchh. A special paste made of castor is used in this craft. Castor seeds are hand-pounded to extract the oil and turned into a paste by boiling, Colored powder diluted in water is then mixed with this. The pastes of different colors yellow, red, blue, green, black and orange are stored in earthen-pots with water to prevent them from drying up. The kalam, an iron rod, flat at both ends, is used to paint half the design with the support of the fingers of the left hand. It is then impressed on the other half of the cloth by pressing the two halves together. As they were inexpensive substitutes for embroidered textiles, they were popular alternative textiles for clothing. Today, cushion covers, bed spreads, skirts, kurtas, curtains, tablecloths and wall hangings are painted using this technique. Generally, geometrical motifs are preferred; motifs from nature such as tree-of-life are very popular for wall hangings.

We hope you can join us to support the arts and artists.

 Terms and conditions:

• We will be sending a calendar invite and email invite with zoom link to join 2 days before the workshop once we receive payment (please don't select the option for COD).
• The workshops are attended by beginners as well as others who may already be acquainted with art hence, we will keep a pace that everyone is comfortable with.
• We will share a recording of the workshop after the workshop, so even if you miss anything please don't worry as you can still follow again from the recording. We will keep the recordings for a week, please download after the workshop.
• The artists mostly speak in Hindi, Memeraki team will be moderating and translating.
• Workshop will be conducted over Zoom. If you don't already use Zoom, please download the zoom app on your phone or laptop (easier to sit on a desk with a laptop or with the phone on a stand so you can see the artist paint and follow at the same time and so that the artist can also see you painting. Please sit in a well-lit place)
• Please test audio and video on zoom. Please stay on mute during the workshop so that everyone can hear the artist, please unmute anytime you wish to ask a question. We may also request you to switch off video at some points as the locations where the artists are sometimes don’t have good bandwidth (we have tested and it works fine usually)
• We will also create a WhatsApp group for easy communication on the day of the class. The group will be deleted a couple of days after the class. Please also join our Facebook group to keep in touch with us and other participants https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632293370227782.
• Class is not transferable to another person - please do not share the zoom class link with others once you have registered and please join with the registered email address